Young creative writers reflect the tragedy of the Somme

Jersey students will evoke the tragedy of the Battle of the Somme through creative writing at a workshop organised by Jersey Heritage.

Boys from Victoria College, some of them not much younger than many of those who died during the battle one hundred years ago, are aiming to tell the story of Howard Davis and will draw their inspiration from the workshop, where they will hear about Davis and the thousands of comrades, and opposing soldiers, who gave their lives in one of the bloodiest encounters of the conflict.

Howard Davis was the son of local philanthropist T.B. Davis, who established a number of memorials to his son including the Howard Davis Hall at Victoria College and the Howard Davis Park, which is where the workshop will be held this week.

As well as hearing more about the life and death of Howard Davis, the students will learn about events during the Battle and study WWI items from the Jersey Heritage collection. They will then work on their own creative writing responses under the guidance of editor and creative writing tutor Pippa Le Quesne. The finished work will play an integral role in the school’s Founders’ Week celebrations in September.

Lucy Layton, Outreach Curator at Jersey Heritage said, “We wanted to find a way to reflect the horror and tragedy of the Somme through a creative process. Howard Davis, and thousands of other young men like him, made the ultimate sacrifice in battle. There is a strong connection with Victoria College as the school suffered heavy losses during the First World War. But while we are focusing on Howard Davis, we will not be forgetting all those local men who bravely fought and died 100 years ago.”

The workshop is being held at the Memorial Hall in the Howard Davis Park on Wednesday 6th July between 09.00 and 15.00